On November 6th 2016, the new Chapel at Zurich Airport was officially dedicated. Here’s a short review of the opening ceremony written by the Revd George Lane, Airport Chaplain at Manchester Airport and President of the IACAC (International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains).
Together with Pierre de Maureuil (IACAC Vice-President – editor’s note), I was delighted to represent the International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains and to celebrate with the Zurich Airport Chaplaincy Team, their volunteers, denominational supporters, airport management and friends from a wide spectrum of faith communities, the formal opening and inauguration of their most beautiful chaplaincy facilities – and to affirm the on-going work of the fantastic (and youthful!) chaplaincy team there (there was a constant flow of people through the facilities over the weekend, and a constant flow of humanitarian assistance requests on the chaplaincy team and volunteers).
It was a wonderful privilege to spend the weekend with our colleagues in Zurich, and to receive such generous hospitality and welcome from our friends. The design of the Prayer Room is based on the route maps you often see from point to point across the globe, and reflects the reality of our interconnectedness. I took lots of photos and notes, as Manchester Airport is about to embark on similar terminal building work, including our own chaplaincy facilities. Zurich offers a high-quality exemplar.
This review is an extract of the IACAC President’s Letter – November 2016.